Intertextuality Pair

1 Timothy 5:18a → Deuteronomy 25:4

Quotation

Later text

1 Timothy 5:18BSB

For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

Earlier text

Deuteronomy 25:4BSB

Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square8:20

Significance

Paul introduces this citation with the explicit formula "the Scripture says" (legei gar hē graphē) and quotes Deuteronomy 25:4 verbatim: "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." This is the same Deuteronomic text Paul had already applied in 1 Corinthians 9:9 using a qal wahomer argument — if God cares about oxen being fed while they work, how much more should laborers in the gospel receive material support? The application is analogical rather than typological: the principle of allowing a worker to benefit from his labor, established in the Mosaic agricultural law, applies a fortiori to elders who labor in preaching and teaching. Paul treats the Deuteronomic command as embodying a universal principle of justice rooted in God's character.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s)
Analogy

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